Duval is the main drag. Key West's top tourist trap. I've always loved it. Henry, Reg and Patrick avoid it whenever possible, but not this girl. I'm only in town for a few days and I'm not going to pretend to be a local. I'm a Chicago girl on vacation so bring on the jewelry kiosks and the cafes and souvenir shops!
This year was different though. Disturbing. I've been going to Key West and doing The Duval Crawl for, literally, decades. The t-shirts have always been, in my mother's word, "smutty." Save a horse, ride a beard. Mustache rides: 25¢. They call me drywall because I'm well hung. You get the idea.
I walked this street when George W. Bush was President. When Obama was President. When Trump was President. Sex sold better than politics in those days, I guess. Or maybe the loyal opposition wasn't this hateful.
I also saw our fellow citizens not wearing masks but proudly wearing all manner of "Let's Go Brandon." Worst of all, I actually saw a man with a shirt emblazoned with an automatic weapon and the question: "Does my patriotism offend you?" No, but I'm offended that you equate a gun with burst mode with love of country.
Hillary Clinton may have been inartful when she referred to these people as "deplorable," but she wasn't wrong.
Oh well, it made my shopping easier. I refuse to spend my money in a store that sells this filth. I'll take sex over hate any day. Isn't capitalism great?
On the plus side -- and nothing is ever all bad -- I found this place. Dancing Fingers Massage was delightful. New to me and a godsend! Clean, affordable and quiet. The 15-minute foot massage was only $20. I felt positively rejuvenated. I'm only sorry I didn't discover them earlier in the week. The flight down was 3 1/2 hours spent folded virtually in half. I think I could have benefited from Dancing Fingers on my back, too!
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| My oasis! |
Here's a happy new year sign. At midnight on New Year's Eve, a drag queen named Sushi will descend from this 8 foot stiletto to ring in 2022. Now this is the Key West I know and love!
And where else but Duval can you see a cigar that looks like Elvis?
Looks like an interesting place. I have never been to Key West. We have been in San Antonio the past few days, and I have seen some of those same t-shirts around, but not as many as you saw in Key West. We decided to cut our little winter vacation short and fly home later today ahead of another big snow storm threatened for tomorrow. You are right about the the political climate. It is nasty and only seems to be getting worse. We can hope and pray for better in the New Year, but it seems we are heading down a dark path.
ReplyDeleteI am so bored with the political hate. I hear kids parroting the slogans when they actually have no idea what it means.
ReplyDeleteWow and wow! So sad to see these for sale and even sadder that people are spending money on these. I am so sad for the direction our country is headed in...so hateful and mean.
ReplyDeleteWe have a "Trump Store" about 30 miles from us. Every now and then the guy who owns it does something to get free publicity from the news. The hatred has really gotten bad. (And I've been waiting all week to read your blog, so thank you for the posts!)
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